


Magic Touch

by Sanalith



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen, pre-Mad Swan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-12
Updated: 2012-07-12
Packaged: 2017-11-09 20:47:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/458215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sanalith/pseuds/Sanalith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the prompts "Bring It" and "Badass." A slice of Jefferson's thoughts during "Hat Trick."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Magic Touch

During his life in the Enchanted Forest, Jefferson had considered himself a calm man. True, he obsessed a bit more over Grace than was probably necessary, but there was no harm in being overly cautious. Especially not with the Hat around to cause gods only knew what mischief. But his time in Wonderland followed by nearly three decades of having two conflicting lives warring for supremacy in his mind was enough to erode all self-control.  
  
As cliché as it was, his experiences were more than enough to drive one…well… _mad_.  
  
When Emma Swan appeared in Storybrooke, Jefferson took his first real breath in decades. The Savior had come, just as foretold, and with it, she brought a glimmer of real hope. He just had to be patient for a little while longer, and then he and Grace could finally have their happily ever after.  
  
But patience, never his strongest suit, was apparently no longer an option. And it quickly became clear that not only was Emma _not_ working on breaking the curse, she didn’t even believe it was real. And that was simply unacceptable.  
  
Very well. If Emma would not bring the magic of her own free will, he’d just have to bring it himself.  
  
Carefully, he laid out his plan. It seemed fool-proof, down to the last detail. And surely, when confronted by so much evidence, no logical woman could deny the facts. He’d counted on a small amount of resistance, of course. No woman took well to being drugged and kidnapped. Her annoyance at that was completely understandable.  
  
Unfortunately, there were two things he had _not_ planned for. The first – which he successfully forced himself to ignore, at least temporarily – was how wonderful Emma felt as she’d tumbled into his arms, unconsciousness from his special tea. Did all women have hair so soft, skin so smooth? This was certainly a distraction he did _not_ need!  
  
Best to deal with that later.  
  
His second mistake, however, was much more debilitating, and that was how much of a bad-ass the Savior could be when provoked.  
  
He expected her to cajole, to plead, to perhaps even shed a few womanly tears in the hopes of touching his (now non-existent) sympathies. What he got instead was a warrior woman who fought tooth and claw to protect her friend and who managed to knock him over the head with his own bloody telescope.  
  
Well then.  
  
If nothing else, she had spirit. She’d need it, if she was going to save the world. Hopefully the next time they fought, it would be side by side against the snake who called herself a queen. And though his carefully constructed plan ended in unmitigated disaster, there was in fact one silver lining.  
  
For one brief moment, the Hat had worked.  
  
Not very well, and only once, when he toppled from his mansion window. He’d been transported only as far as his own backyard, and there was no power left when he’d gone to retrieve it.  
  
But it had worked. Whether she willed it or not, whether she _knew_ it or not, Emma had believed just long enough to bring one small spark of magic into the world. And what she did once, she could do again.  
  
Jefferson clutched the hat in his hand, a feral smile crossing his lips.  
  
Emma would bring the magic whether she wanted to or not, and he'd be there to give her whatever pushes she needed...even if it meant she pushed back.  
  
And if that meant he got to spend more time with his warrior woman, well...there were certainly worse curses in life, weren't there?


End file.
